APPLE CRUMB SQUARES

Amarante

Sun, Aug 25 2019, 10:20 am

This was a relatively simple dessert and as the notes indicate, tastes like an apple pie without the difficulty of rolling pie crusts. Rolling despite every trick I've tried is just something I haven't been able to master - and dealing with presentable top crusts is even more difficult.

APPLE CRUMB SQUARES

Excerpt From: Good Housekeeping The Great Potluck Cookbook.

These luscious squares combine all the flavors of a streusel-topped apple pie without the rolling.

ACTIVE TIME 1 hour . TOTAL TIME 2 hours plus cooling . MAKES 24 squares

Crumb Topping

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup pecans or walnuts, coarsely chopped
½ cup butter or margarine (1 stick), slightly softened
½ cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Crust

3 cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup cold butter or margarine (1½ sticks)

Apple Filling

4 pounds green apples, such as Granny Smith, peeled, cored, and cut into ½-inch chunks
4 tablespoons butter or margarine
¾ cup raisins or dried currants
½ cup packed brown sugar
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons cornstarch
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

EACH SQUARE

About 315 calories, 3g protein, 42g carbohydrate, 16g total fat (8g saturated), 3g fiber, 33mg cholesterol, 155mg sodium

1 Prepare crumb topping: In medium bowl, with fingertips, mix all topping ingredients until mixture comes together. Shape into a ball; wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use.

2 Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly grease sides of 15½" by 10½" jelly-roll pan.

3 Prepare crust: In large bowl, with fork, mix flour, granulated sugar, and salt. With pastry blender or 2 knives used scissors-fashion, blend butter into flour mixture until mixture resembles fine crumbs. With hand, press fine-crumb mixture evenly into bottom of prepared pan. Bake crust until golden brown (it may crack slightly), 20 to 24 minutes.

4 Meanwhile, prepare apple filling: In nonstick 12-inch skillet, cook apples, butter, raisins, brown sugar, and cinnamon over medium heat until apples are very tender and most liquid from apples evaporates, 25 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. In cup, mix cornstarch and lemon juice. Stir lemon-juice mixture into apple mixture and cook until mixture thickens, stirring. Remove skillet from heat.

5 Spread apple mixture over hot crust. Break chilled crumb topping into chunks and scatter over apple mixture. Bake until topping browns, about 40 minutes. Cool completely in pan on wire rack.

6 To serve, cut lengthwise into 4 strips, then cut each strip crosswise into 6 squares.

Last edited by Amarante on Mon, Aug 26 2019, 9:55 am; edited 1 time in total